Less than three weeks away from the Games of La Francophonie in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Government of Canada has still not decided whether it will send a sports and artistic delegation due to security risks in Kinshasa.
A Canadian federal government source told the Duty that several questions are still unanswered regarding the measures that will be taken to ensure the protection of participants during the event, scheduled from July 28 to August 6.
“We haven’t given the green light, we still have questions,” said this source, who requested anonymity because she is not authorized to comment on the situation.
The preparation of sports infrastructure is not an issue for Canada. The final decision depends rather on the detailed analysis of the security measures which will surround in particular the displacements of the participants in the Congolese capital. Ottawa is awaiting answers to its questions sent Friday to the Congolese authorities.
“We are in the fine detail of the contingency plans to know how the trips from point A to point B are made, how it works, who are the guides, the police”, we have noted.
If the green light is given, Canada would send a reduced delegation of approximately 60 people, including a dozen people who are already part of the New Brunswick delegation, as well as escorts and medical and consular personnel.
3000 attendees
While on June 22 the local organization of the games was expecting 3,468 participants in Kinshasa, the director of the International Committee of the Games of the Francophonie (CIJF), Zeina Mina, confirmed to the Duty that this number is more like 3000.
“Due to internal constraints that have arisen in some countries, the final global list will not be finalized until the week of July 10,” she said on Monday.
In 2017, 3,500 participants were received in Abidjan for the last edition of the Francophone Games.
On Monday, the DRC government said it had cracked down on urban banditry and to stem cases of kidnappings.
“We are making the authority of the state felt,” Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Gilbert Kakonde Malamba said during a weekly briefing.
The Ministry of Health also indicated that ambulances had been received, as well as the necessary defibrillators.
Disclaimers
At the end of June, the government of Quebec gave up sending a delegation to Kinshasa, citing health and safety reasons for the participants.
In Belgium, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) has excluded the athletes from its delegation, confirmed to the Duty the cabinet of the minister-president of the government, Pierre-Yves Jeholet.
“The sports infrastructure does not guarantee, in good condition, our athletes sufficient conditions for the practice of their sports”, declared the spokesperson, Nicolas Reynders.
This decision was taken on the basis of reports from the sports and culture administrations of the FWB.
“A diplomatic and cultural delegation will take part in the Games of La Francophonie,” said Mr. Reynders, adding that the group will consist of 16 people for the cultural component and six people for the diplomatic component.
In France, the athletics and cycling federations have also given up sending participants to the Kinshasa events, according to information reported last week in the French press.
Planned at 48.2 million euros in 2019, the games budget has increased to 67 million euros, or nearly 98 million dollars.